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A centuries-old tomb stele smuggled from the ancient Turkish city of Zeugma to Italy has been returned to its home, Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on July 13.A stele is a standing stone slab used in the ancient world for several purposes, including grave and tomb markers, dedications, commemorations and demarcations.The repatriated tomb stele depicts a noblewoman, wearing a veil and a tunic. Her right hand is placed on her left breast. Under the bust refiguring the deceased is an inscription in ancient Greek reading, "Satornila, the wife who loves her husband, farewell!"The Venetian authorities seized...

The ancient city of Zeugma, located in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, is planned to be converted into an archaeological park through a series of restoration and landscape works... [T]his year's work would start as of Aug. 1 at the ancient site... Zeugma was founded in 300 B.C. by Alexander the Great under the name of Selevkaya Euphrates. In 64 B.C., Zeugma was conquered and ruled by the Roman Empire and renamed Zeugma, meaning "bridge-passage" or "bridge of boats". During Roman rule, the city became one of the attractions in the region, due to its commercial potential originating from its...

ZEUGMAnoun zeug·ma \ˈzüg-mə\ hear it pronounced the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words usually in such a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only oneExamples: "She lost her ticket and her temper." [My cousin] roars around on a shocking old motor bike – mustache and dignity flying in the morning breeze..." – Sinclair Lewis, Dodsworth About the Word:Zeugma comes from a Greek word meaning "to join." In ancient times, the city of Zeugma, which spanned the two sides of the Euphrates river in what is now...

The town of Hasankeyf, Turkey, will soon be only a memory. From her front door, Fatima Salkan has a sweeping view of the fruit trees, historic ruins and tidy stone compounds that run along this stretch of the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey. She tries her best not to look off in the distance, to the right. The town on the horizon, still under construction, is where she will move when the valley is flooded by a downstream hydropower dam. “Do you see all these old places?” she asks in Kurdish. “We are the owner, but today we are homeless.”...

Pieces of a renowned Roman mosaic that were looted and eventually sold to an American university are to be returned to Turkey, thetimes.co.uk reports. The twelve fragments once formed parts of the border of the "gypsy girl" mosaic in the ancient Roman settlement of Zeugma, close to the modern Turkish city of Gaziantep, and show human faces and birds. The near-complete main part of the mosaic, which has remained in Turkey, depicts a girl with windswept hair and an intense stare. It is on display in Gaziantep's Zeugma mosaics museum and has become an unofficial symbol of the city. The...

Demet Kara, an archaeologist from the Hatay Archaeology Museum, said the mosaic, which was called the “skeleton mosaic,” belonged to the dining room of a house from the 3rd century B.C., as new findings have been unearthed in the ancient city of Antiocheia. “There are three scenes on glass mosaics made of black tiles. Two things are very important among the elite class in the Roman period in terms of social activities: The first is the bath and the second is dinner. In the first scene, a black person throws fire. That symbolizes the bath. In the middle scene, there...

The Zeugma excavation project conducted by Oxford Archaeology and supported by Packhard Humanities Institute and the Ministry of Culture of Turkey has recently unearthed three ancient Greek mosaics in the Turkish city of Zeugma. Zeugma had received some press and support in 2000 after flooding caused by construction began to bury and damage artifacts in the region. The mosaics, created in the 2nd century BC, are constructed of boldly colored glass and are being covered for protection until excavation is complete. The head of the project, Professor Kutalmis Görkay, recently gave the Hurriyet Daily News more details about the plan...

Three new mosaics have been unearthed during the Muzalar House excavations in the ancient city of Zeugma in Turkey's southern province of Gaziantep. The uncovered mosaics were displayed at a press conference attended by Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin and the head of the excavations, Professor Kutalmış Görkay... “There are still unexcavated areas. There are rock-carved houses here. We have reached one of these houses and the house includes six spaces. We have also unearthed three new mosaics in this year’s excavations,” he said. Görkay added that with the end of the excavation season, the most important stage had now started....

GAZIANTEP - Governor Suleyman Kamci of southeastern province of Gaziantep said Friday ancient city of Zeugma would be covered with a structure resembling a "glass bell jar" in an effort to make the historical site a more attractive place for tourists. Kamci said the historical artifacts unearthed in Zeugma were currently being displayed at Gaziantep Museum in order to protect the pieces from harsh weather conditions. "However, these artifacts would be more attractive for tourists if they could be preserved and exhibited in their original location," Kamci said. He said some of the artifacts that are on display at the...

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